Meteorological (Met) Centre at Leh (Ladakh) inaugurated

Meteorological (Met) Centre at Leh (Ladakh) inaugurated

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Sci & Tech

In news 

• The Union Minister of Earth Sciences inaugurated Meteorological (Met) Centre at Leh (Ladakh).

Key takeaways 

• Located at a height of 3500 m, Meteorological Centre Leh will be the highest meteorological centre in India.
• The Centre will be a world class facility for high altitude meteorology. 
• It will cater to the various kinds of weather and climate needs of the people and the administration of Ladakh.
• It will provide forecast for important tourist places like Nubra, Changthang, Pangong Lake, Zanskar, among others.

Need for a Met Centre at Leh

• The Ladakh region has lofty mountains with high slopes and no vegetation and lots of loose soil and debris making the region vulnerable to various kinds of natural hazards like Cloud burst (of 2010), Flash Floods, Avalanches and Glacial Lake Outbursts, etc.
• To avert losses due to such weather events in future, the Government felt the need to establish a State of the Art Meteorological (Met) Centre at Leh to strengthenweather related Early Warning System in Ladakh.